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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Aug 2.
Published in final edited form as: Atten Percept Psychophys. 2017 Jan;79(1):3–23. doi: 10.3758/s13414-016-1224-2

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Illustration of the influence of the bipolar electrical field on neurons close to the anode (blue) versus cathode (red). The top panel shows a schematic representation of the electrodes on the scalp and the electrical field that is generated. This depolarizes the soma, or cell body of neurons near the anodal electrode bringing the closer to their thresholds for firing an action potential. The ionic gradients near the cathode have the opposite effect. This is why the logical placement of both electrodes is crucial in tDCS experiments. Bottom panels are adapted with permission from Bikson et al. (2004) and the Journal of Physiology.